New Kid at Horizon
by amykaye
Summary: UPDATED Shelby's story about her dad comes out, to the least likely person. Please review!
1. Sydney arrives

Daisy, Juliette, Kat, and Shelby were in their dorm, working on homework.  
"I hate homework!" Juliette complained. "When will the new girl get here? At least I'll get to stop my homework."  
  
"Thats what you think Princess. What if Peter doesn't chose you to show her around?" Shelby asked.  
  
"Then, I don't know."  
  
"Just finish it now, Jules, and you won't have to worry about it," Kat said.  
  
"Girls?" Sophie said as she came in. "Sydney is here. She's not getting out of the car, so, Kat, please come with me."  
  
"Is Kat going to show her around?" Juliette asked.  
  
"Yes. It may be the last time she'll get to show someone around. Come on, Kat." And then the two left.  
  
"That so is not fair!" Juliette complained.  
  
"You can't be the princess everytime, Princess."  
  
"Here, Jules, I'll help you with your homework. I have the same assignments," Daisy offered.  
  
  
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"Okay, Kat. Work your magic," Sophie said, pushing Kat towards the silver Expedition. Kat walked over and tapped on the glass. The girl looked at her and opened the door.  
"Hi, I'm Katherine, but you can call me Kat. You're Sydney, right?" Sydney only raised her eyebrows. "Okay, well, how about you get out of the car and I'll show you around?" Sydney stared at her with an "Oh, please" expression on her face. "Well, you can't sit in your car forever. You're going to have to get out at some point. And Sophie over there has to check your things for drugs and stuff." Sydney still didn't move. Kat was running out of ideas. "Its really not so bad here after you adjust. Some of it can be homesickness or missing your family."  
  
For some reason, that motivated Sydney to jump out of the car. She grabbed two of her bags and Kat picked up the other two. They followed Sophie into the examining room.  
  
"Thank you, Kat. You can go back now. I'll bring her to the dorm when we're done, and then you can show her around before dinner, okay?" Sophie instructed. Kat nodded and then returned to the dorm.  
  
"So, what are you in here for?" Sophie asked, although she knew.   
  
Sydney didn't answer. She folded her arms and sat back in her chair while Sophie examined her stuff. She didn't have any drugs. She knew she would get busted. She thought hiding it under the mat in the shoe was creative, but it seemed as though everyone knew about that place. So, she chose not to take anything to Horizon.  
  
"Well, you're clean. Thats good. But you have to go wash your face and take out all your piercings. You can leave one pair in, though."  
  
No makeup? I look awful without makeup. But she washed her face and took out the second set of earings and the two on the top of her left ear. When she came out, Sophie said, "You look beautiful. You don't need to hide under makeup." Sydney hoped she was telling the truth. She certainly didn't feel beautiful. Truthfully, she never did feel beautiful; not with nice clothes or more than one earing or her hair done up nicely. She felt a tear about to break from her eye, so she quickly brushed it away.   
  
Sohpie led her to the dorms. It was getting dark out and she couldn't see much of the campus.  
"Well, here you go. You're part of the Cliffhanger's group. Kat will introduce you and show you around and help you get settled. I'll see you at dinner, okay?" Sydney nodded. She took a deep breath and entered the dorm. Juliette jumped off the bed.  
  
"Hi, I'm Juliette. Thats Shelby and thats Daisy." Then she leaned in and whispered. "Shelby can be pretty rude sometimes. Don't worry."  
  
"Stuff it, Princess. We can introduce ourselves. I'm Shelby."  
  
"Daisy," Daisy said, offering her hand. Sydney didn't take it. "Whoa, okay. I don't need to be told twice."  
  
"Sydney doesn't feel comfortable talking right now. Just let her settle in right now, okay?" Kat said, coming to her defence. Shelby and Daisy exchanged glances and rolled their eyes, laughing. Juliette shot them an angry look.  
  
"See? What did I tell you?"  
  
"Quiet, Princess, or-"  
  
"Enough, guys! Sydney, you can take that middle bed. Do you need any help making it or putting your stuff away?"  
  
"We can do the bed and you can put up your stuff," Juliette offered. Sydney nodded and began unloading her clothes. Daisy showed her where to hang her stuff and which drawers were hers. After the bed was made and a bag of clothes were put away it was time for dinner.  
  
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Sydney had been introduced to the guys by the time Daisy and Juliette sat down with their food. Daisy took a seat next to Ezra, which left the only open seat next to Shelby, who sat next to Scott, who was on the end, and Sydney. She still felt uncomfortable sitting next to them, and she knew it gave Shelby pleasure at the emotional stress she was going through.  
  
"They gave me too much again! I can never eat this much, and I tell them that all the time!" Juliette complained.  
  
"Yo, lighten up Twig, you don't have to eat that much," Auggie said. Juliette smiled at him.  
  
"I just feel this is too much. I feel to big already."  
  
"Yeah, Jules. If you eat all that, the ground will shake whenever you take a step," Shelby said. Tears sprung to her eyes. She hated it when Shelby made fun of her in front of the guys, especially Auggie and especially Scott.  
  
"It already does," she whispered under her breath. Sydney put an hand on Juliette's arm, but Juliette jumped up and left. Satisfied, Shelby turned to Sydney.  
  
"So, why don't you talk? Do you have some deep, dark secret you don't want anybody to know? Well, if its written in that old journal of yours, everybody here will know about it by breakfast tomorrow. Come on, just say one word. Just one!" she taunted.  
  
"Give her a break, Shel. Its her first day," Scott broke in before she could say anything more. But Sydney was hurt nonetheless and jumped up and ran back to the dorm. Juliette was there as well.  
  
"She tease you, too?" Sydney nodded. "Why won't you talk?" Sydney shrugged. She didn't know why she wasn't talking. It was probably because she was scared. She lay down on her bed and clutched the teddy bear she brought along. She began to cry silently.  
  
"It'll be okay, Sydney. I promise. I was so scared when I first got here that I cried myself to sleep almost every night for a week."  
  
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Thirty minutes later, Shelby came in, accompanied by the other girls and Sophie.  
  
"I'm sorry Jules, Sydney. I didn't mean it. It just sorta...came out," Shelby said. Then she turned to Sophie. "There, I apologized. You can go now."  
Sophie shook her head and left.  
  
  
How will Sydney's first week turn out? Please review! 


	2. Sydney tells her story

DISCLAIMER: I don't own any characters, only Sydney  
  
**carlie - yes, Scott and Shelby are together, but these aren't focusing on them right now. In later eps, I'll write about them.**  
  
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Sophie returned to the room. "Girls, you guys have therapy in here tonight. Peter isn't feeling very well and I have to go into town for a few things. Can I trust you to do it?"  
  
"Yes, Sophie. We'll do it," Juliette said.  
  
"Good. Goodnight, girls," Sophie said and then left.  
  
"I really am sorry, you guys," Shelby said.  
  
"What got into you, Shel?" Kat asked.  
  
"I don't know," she said, sitting on the bed.  
  
"Having problems with Scott?" Daisy asked. Shelby nodded.  
  
"I don't know. He just seems so distant lately. He doesn't want to talk or anything. He just wants to hang with Auggie and Freakin."  
  
"Sorry, Shel. He'll bounce back. He always does."  
  
"Don't worry, Shelby. Auggie's acting the same way," Juliette said. It was silent for a few minutes. Sydney began to unpack the rest of her things.  
  
"Well, lets get ready for bed and we can do therapy," Kat said.  
  
The others agreed. An hour later, Sydney was unpacked and they were gathered on two of the beds. Kat and Daisy had talked at dinner after Juliette and Sydney left, trying to figure out how they could get her to talk. They came up with therapy in the dorm, so Sydney could get to know her roommates better.  
  
"Okay...how do we start?" Daisy asked.  
  
"We talk about how we feel. Hope we can figure out our problems," Shelby said in her sarcastic voice.  
  
"Okay, I'll go first," Kat said.  
  
**************************************************  
  
"So, it seems to me that we all have some sort of problem with our parents," Juliette commented. "What about you, Sydney? What are your parents like?" Without warning, Sydney burst into tears.  
  
"Way to go, Princess," Shelby said.  
  
"What is it, whats wrong?" Kat asked.  
  
"I HATE my life!" Sydney burst.   
  
"Why?"  
  
"Its so screwed up. My parents were so screwed up!"  
  
"Well, do you want to tell us?" Juliette asked. Sydney looked around, and saw that the four girls were truly concerned. She took a deep breath.  
  
"Okay. It sounds really crazy, but its true. My parents always expected too much of me. I had to have 95 or higher in all my classes, and if I didn't, my dad would beat me. If my mom interferred, my dad would beat her, too. Then my mom began to blame me and say it was my fault. In 9th grade, it was particularly hard for me in science. I really didn't do well in science, but I managed to pull off an A, at least the first six weeks. Then I began to get low Bs, and that really ticked my dad off. I couldn't get higher than an 85 in science, no matter how much I studied or tried. At the end of my freshman year, my mom threatened that she would kill herself if I didn't have all As on my final report card. I tried so hard to do that, but I couldn't. The last 6 weeks was so hard in science and algebra, and I made a 78 in both. I didn't really expect my mom to carry out her threat, but she did. My dad really began to hate me, and he beat me whenever he felt like it. Finally, I ran away to my friend's house and they called a child protection agency. I stayed in two foster homes over the past four months. They ignored me, and my grades slipped, I got into fights at school, I did drugs, I cut myself...finally my social worker packed me up and brought me here," Sydney finished. The other girls just stared at her, speechless.  
  
"So that was your social worker who brought you here today?" Kat asked. Sydney nodded.  
  
"What about your dad, did he get locked up?" Shelby asked.  
  
"No, he died in a drunk driving accident two months ago."  
  
"Gee, I'm really sorry, Sydney," Daisy said. Sydney wiped her eyes and tried to smile. "But why didn't you want to talk?"  
  
"I was so scared. I was afraid I would be ignored, just like I was at my foster homes and at school. I was a nobody there, and I was afraid I would be a nobody here. I haven't really talked at all for the past few months, because the people I tried to talk to just didn't care. I guess I thought you guys wouldn't care."  
  
"But we do. See, we're all screwed up somehow, and the only way we can get through the hard times is to talk about it," Kat said. Sydney nodded. She felt better being able to talk about it, although she felt strange for bearing her soul to people she had just met.  
  
  
  
I don't know whats going to happen next, I'll think of something. Please review!


	3. Pain and Anger

  


I haven't updated this story for quite awhile, but I got some ideas. I hope the interest wasn't lost.

  
  
The next morning Sydney forgot where she was. She reached for her bear, which seemed to be her only source of comfort. She took a few deep breaths and remembered where she was. She sat half-way up in bed and looked around the room at her sleeping roommates. She remembered what had happened the night before and felt embarrassed. She knew she didn't need to be but she still was.  
  
At breakfast Sydney had reverted back to not speaking. She was ashmaed of her life and didn't feel like talking anymore. She didn't think anyone would listen, either. She was having a hard time adjusting, harder than she thought. And Shelby wasn't making it any easier. Sydney didn't want to say anything but she thought it was more than Scott that was bothering her. To her, they were getting along fine. But then, again, it was only her second meal with them.  
"So, why is she not talking again?" Scott asked.  
"I don't know, why don't you ask her," Shelby said, giggling.  
"Give her a break, man. Its barely her first day," Auggie said. Sydney looked gratefully at him.  
Shelby ignored Auggie and kept pestering Sydney. "So, what can I say that will get you to talk?" Shelby pretended to think. "Oh, I know. What if I told the table about what you told us last night? Would you talk?"  
Sydney looked at her pleadingly. She wouldn't give in to Shelby's bullying.  
"Lets see...what if I told about your problems in high school? No, we all have problems. What about demanding perfect grades? No, Juliette's mother is already like that. Oh, I know. What if I told about how you killed your mother?"  
Hurt and embarrassed, Sydney looked down, trying not to cry.  
"Whoa, Shel, you've gone too far this time," Scott said.  
Shelby whipped her head around and glared at him. "Who's side are you on, anyway?"  
"Nobody's, but you should let up on her."  
"Whatever. I wasn't lying, though. She-" Shelby began.   
"Shelby, stop. We don't want to hear it, okay?" Scott interrupted. Shelby narrowed her eyes at Scott but remained quiet. Sydney couldn't take it anymore, jumped up, and left. Shelby watched her go with no remorse on her face.  
"I don't get you, Shelby. Why do you always have to pick on the sensitive ones?" Juliette asked, then followed Sydney.  
"Thats it, they're too sensitive. They need to lighten up."  
"You just need to leave them alone. They're dealing with their own problems right now and don't need you creating new ones," Kat said. At that Shelby herself got angry and left. She went to the docks. She expected Scott to follow her, but he didn't.  
"Thanks, Kat. I don't know what's wrong with her," Scott said.  
"Talk to her, see whats wrong."  
"You're forgetting that she doesn't tell me about her life. Its a big secret. I'm not supposed to know anything about her." Now Scott left.  
"Isn't this a great morning," Daisy said. Ezra and Kat nodded in agreement.  
  
In the room Sydney lay on her bed, crying into her pillow and holding her bear tightly. She heard footsteps then the bed shifted. Juliette put a hand on her shoulder. Sydney sat up and brought her knees to her chest. Her eyes were red and had tear streaks across her face. Juliette felt bad for her. Shelby had never hurt her this much before. It was strange to see that Shelby could break someone else down easier than her.  
"Sydney, I don't know what to say. Shelby has bullied before, but she's never crossed the line like that," Juliette said. Sydney had so much to say, and she knew that Juliette was someone she could trust, but there was still that old fear deep down.  
Finally, after a few moments: "What is it about me that makes me such an easy target? It seems that no matter where I go, people always make fun of me, nobody cares, and they make fun of me because of my past. Why? I've never done anything to Shelby, to nobody. All I've done is be alive. Its not my fault that my mom killed herself because she didn't like my grades. Its not my fault my father beat me. It is my fault that I turned to drugs and stuff. But why must everyone I meet make fun of me because of all of it? What have I ever done to deserve any of this?" Sydney choked out, barely able to talk. It brought tears to Juliette's own eyes and she hugged Sydney for a long time.  
  
Scott had gone to the courts and was shooting some hoops. He played against himself, pretending he had someone else trying to get the ball away. He dodged the pretend player and ran all over the court. He would always did that when he was angry, to let off some steam. He didn't do it using the football, because he knew he would look silly doing it. He didn't understand Shelby. What could be so bad that she couldn't tell him? He told her everything about his life, and she could barely say that she had turned to prostitution after her step-father molested her. He knew it was hard stuff to deal with, but he didn't understand why she couldn't be more open with him. He didn't want to keep bugging her and make her turn away completely, but he didn't see how a relationship could work if there were secrets like that. Shelby was the best thing that ever happened to him, and he couldn't bear losing her. He resolved that he would try his hardest to not bug her about it, to let her come to him. Feeling slightly better, he went back to the dorm to take a shower.  
  
Shelby sat at the edge of the docks, dangling her feet in the water. It was such a beautiful place just to sit and think. Especially today. The sky barely had any clouds, yet the sun wasn't extremely bright. There was a cool breeze that made the water ripple. The forest was a perfect background for the lake. It seemed like a backdrop for a play or movie. Shelby didn't go to the lake to enjoy the scenery, though. She had a lot on her mind, lots of painful memories were coming back and Shelby wanted to clear her mind a little. She didn't want to cry in front of the others. To her, tears were a sign of weakness and Shelby wasn't weak. When she tried to keep in her emotions, she tended to be rude. She knew she was horrible to Sydney and felt horrible about it. She'd apologize later, but right now she had to figure out how she could get through the next two days.  
  
  


Next: what is bothering Shelby so much. Hope y'all enjoyed it since its been so long. Please **review**!


	4. The Letter

  


I'm pretty sure that Shelby's father is still alive but I thought this would fit better in her life than in any of the others. Enjoy!

  
Shelby sat alone at the docs for about 30 minutes, then Peter found her. He took her to his office. Shelby knew she was in trouble for being rude to Sydney but for the moment she just wanted to be alone.  
"Hey, Peter, I know what I did was wrong and I'll-" Shelby began.  
"Thats not what I wanted to talk with you about, Shel. Its about your dad, your real dad," Peter broke in. At that Shelby's eyes watered but she forced them down. "I know this might be a hard time for you right now, but I'm just letting you know that I'm here for you, always. If you want to talk about anything, my door is always open, you know that. And I heard what you said to Sydney. You know it was wrong to say that and that you hurt her feelings. I know you don't normally say stuff like that and I'm guessing you said it because of personal reasons. As punishment, I want you to write a letter of apology to her. I won't read it and neither will Sophie. This is between the two of you. But I want you to give it to her by tonight or tomorrow morning. You will stay either in your dorm or in the lodge for the remainder of the day. Okay?"  
Shelby only nodded. She stood to leave.  
"Anything you want to talk about now?"  
Shelby shook her head, but felt grateful that she had someone to talk to if she needed to. She left Peter's office feeling only slightly better. She still had a huge weight on her shoulders.  
In the dorm she sat on her bed with a notepad and began to write Sydney the letter. She told Sydney almost everything about her life. She wrote about her dad, who she never mentioned to any of the other Cliffhangers. For some strange reason, she felt like she could tell Sydney things that she couldn't tell Daisy or Scott.  
  
_ Sydney - I am writing this letter not only because I have to but because I want to. What I said this morning was uncalled for and unexeptable. Let me tell you some stuff about my life first. When my sister and I were little, my mom was an alcoholic. She stopped at the beginning of my seventh grade year, because my father died in a tragic car accident. It was really hard for me because I was really close to my dad, closer than my mom. His death made it even harder because I feel it was my fault and I think my mom does too, because she never has treated me the same as my sister. When she re-married my step-father, she changed. She couldn't hold a job very well. She used to have a pretty good job in a law office, but then she got fired from that. After that she worked for a computer company, then as a secretary in a dental office, then at two clothing stores, and now is a waitress at a little diner in my town. My step-father is sick and doesn't bring in much money, so by God's grace and good luck I am here. I used to be on the streets, selling myself for money and drugs. I try to convince myself and others that I did it because I had to and am not ashamed of it, but in truth I really am. I look back on those days and am shocked to see what I would do for money, for comfort. Its hard to believe that people are really okay with themselves doing that. I feel so dirty and that I'll never be clean again. To top it off, my step-father abused me. Molested me, violated me, whatever you want to call it. I found out he did it to my sister, too, and that my mom never tried to stop it. My family has fallen apart forever and all I have is my sister, who has to live in that hell-hole back home. But getting to the point of this letter is, that my father has been gone for four years. The anniversary is tomorrow. Although I don't like calling it an anniversary because I always associate that word with something happy and death isn't happy. I get really uptight and rude when this day comes around every year. I guess I don't know how to get through this time so my outlet is anger and sarcasm. I know its a pathetic excuse but its my reason. I promise I'm not normally like this. Listen to Juliette, she's right, that I can be rude sometimes but never to the extent as this morning. I hope you accept my apology and after a few days maybe we can start over again. I feel horrible about what I said and I'll understand if you chose not to forgive me right away or at all. ~Shelby_  
  
Shelby's hard side had softened while she wrote the letter and there were teardrops on it. She considered writing it over, but decided not to. She felt as if there was a huge hole in her heart and she didn't know how she would make it through the next days. Scott was mad at her, which only made her feel worse. She didn't know why she kept secrets from him; she wanted to tell him about her life and her father but couldn't bring herself to do it.  
Now that the letter was written Shelby had no idea how to give it to her. She didn't want to be around when she read it. Shelby finally decided to put it on her bed and then go to bed early. Shelby wondered why she cared so much. Sydney was different from the others, maybe it was because she didn't talk because she didn't think anyone would listen. Shelby could relate to that. Shelby put the letter under her pillow and went back outside. She found a quiet place where her friends wouldn't be able to see her and wrote in her journal, something she had done maybe three times since arriving at Horizon.  
  
  


Next: How Shelby will get through the 'anniversary' of her father's death. Please **review**!


	5. The Story

  
The next morning Shelby got up early and went to breakfast by herself. On the way back she took an alternate route so she could avoid seeing or talking to any of her groupmates. Her dorm was empty, and she took a quick shower, then got her stuff together and went to class. She sat in slumped in the back of the room, like she always does. Only today she didn't pay attention. She couldn't get her mind off her father. She stared down at her books, turning the page whenever she heard someone by her turn their page. She was glad when that class was over and she darted out of the room to the next class and again sat in the back. The class was history, and normally she enjoyed it, but today she couldn't keep her mind on it, no matter how hard she tried. Thinking about him didn't make her feel better, and trying not to think of him made her feel worse. At some point she feel asleep. She awoke later with a muffled scream. Her classmates were staring at her, a few laughing and pointing. Her eyes filled with tears and she looked down and forced the tears back. She hated to cry.The teacher knelt by her and told her nicely if she couldn't stay awake or had other stuff on her mind she could leave and rest in the dorm. Shelby nodded, not speaking because she was afraid her voice would betray her. She grabbed her bag and dashed out of the room.  
As she made her way down the path, Sophie caught up to her. _How they communicate in this place I'll never know,_ Shelby thought, half amused.  
"Doing okay, Shel?" Sophie asked. Shelby didn't answer, just looked straight into Sophie's eyes. Sophie got the idea. "Okay, kiddo, if you need me, you know where to find me. Go rest, think, whatever. I'll send someone over around lunch to see how you're doing, okay?" Shelby only nodded, then turned and walked quickly back to the dorms.  
She threw her bag on the little couch and flopped on her bed. She reached under the bed frame and pulled out a double framed picture of her family six years ago. It was Christmas time, and Shelby and Jess were dressed in matching red dresses with white lace on the collar and green sashes, their blonde hair in braids. Jess was missing her front teeth and Shelby had her arm in a cast, which was covered in colorful signatures. The picture on the opposite side was of her whole family. Shelby and Jess were still wearing their Christmas dresses. They were all out in a huge garden, surrounded by an old, ivy-covered stone wall, that made Shelby think of the Secret Garden. Her dad was sitting on a stone bench, with Jess on one knee. Shelby was standing behind him, her arms wrapped around his neck, kissing him on the cheek. Her mom was sitting beside her dad, her arm around his and her other hand captured by Jess, who was studying her rings. It was Shelby's favorite picture in the world. Staring at it, she gently stroked the happy faces in the picture. A tear rolled down her cheek and dropped on the picture, and she quickly brushed it off. Then she put the picture back under her bed and laid down, hoping sleep would ease her pain.  
She finally did wake up around lunch time, but she didn't feel better at all. She must have had a bad dream because her face was sticky with dried tears. She got up and went into the bathroom, not noticing Sydney lying on her own bed.  
When Shelby walked out of the bathroom she noticed Sydney. Her whole brave front started to collapse as she made her way towards her bed, blinded by her tears. Sydney wordlessly got up and went to her and hugged her, and the motion make Shelby break. Sydney sat her down on the bed and rubbed her back until she calmed down.  
"Are you okay?" Sydney asked. It was a dumb question, but Sophie had told her to get Shelby talking.  
"No, I'm not."  
"Want to talk about it?"  
Shelby didn't answer right away. She stared ahead, her eyes filling with tears again. She took a deep breath, then nodded. "My mom was always flighty, always forgetting things. She was drunk a lot and couldn't keep a job. It was up to my dad to support us. My mom has forgotten my birthday and Jess' birthday more than once. My dad would always try to make up for it. His gifts would be meaningful, not expensive. He would always be so happy for us with school. I was a pretty good student, Jess had straight A's. But my mom, she would barely look at them. Most of the time she was drunk. He understood us. He would never miss one of my ballet recitals or Jess' horse shows. He was always so proud of us. It didn't matter if we failed a test or did bad in my recital or if Jess didn't place. And when he died, everything went downhill. My grades, my attitude, everything. My mom married...Walt...six months after my dad died. He...he..." Shelby paused. "He would come into my room tonight, ask me to do favors for him. I'd say no, and he'd force me to. Night after night...I told my mom and she wouldn't believe me. Thats when I started to run away. If my dad didn't die, I probably wouldn't even be here! I wouldn't done that stuff on the streets if my mom hadn't married that monster. I wish _he_ would die and my father would come back. I wish that almost everyday." Shelby started to cry again. Sydney was speechless. She didn't expect this whole revelation. Shelby got up and got her pictures from under her bed, then handed it to Sydney.  
"Aw, how cute! Your dad looks really nice," Sydney said. Another dumb comment but she couldn't think of anything else.  
"He was. See, my father was the greatest man alive. Instead of my mom being my best friend, it was my dad."  
"What happened to your arm?"  
"My dad had taken me and Jess to the ice skating rink a little before Thanksgiving. I thought I would be able to a pirouette on the ice, like it would be the same for pointe. Obviously it wasn't, and I fell hard and broke my wrist. Pretty stupid, huh?" Shelby said, trying to smile.  
"Well, one time I climbed a tree and jumped off, thinking my sheet would act like a parachute. I broke my ankle," Sydney said.  
"I think you win the stupid award on that one," Shelby smiled, then sobered immedietly.  
"How - how did your dad die?" Syndey asked tentatively.  
Shelby burst out crying again. "It was all my fault!"  
"No, I bet it wasn't."  
"But it was. I had a dance audition and I wanted him to be there. It was for a 'prestigous' dancing school in my town. He said he had a meeting he couldn't get out of. I was sad, because I wanted some support, and I knew my mom would forget about it. So Jess came because she felt sorry for me. Well, my dad's meeting got out early and he decided he'd try to come see me. He was going through an intersection - he had a green light - and a truck ran into him. That intersection had a hill on one side - thats the side the truck was on. His brakes went out and he happened to hit my dad. He was taken to the hospital and he died an hour later. I didn't get to audition. Someone had picked me and Jess up and took us to the hosipital, but he was already gone. I didn't get to tell him goodbye, or that I was sorry!"  
Sydney rubbed her back. "I don't see how it was your fault."  
"I asked him to come and when he said he couldn't, he saw how disappointed I was. If I hadn't asked him to come, or if it wasn't that important for him to come, he would still be alive!" Shelby broke down.  
"But you weren't driving the truck. Shelby, your dad loved you - thats obvious. He loved you that he wanted to make the effort to come see you."  
"But I just keep thinking how it could have been avoided. If his meeting went the normal time...but it is my fault because he was coming to see me!"  
"No, it isn't, Shelby. Some things happen for a reason."  
"Yeah, what reason would that be? My step father molesting me and my sister? Me going to the streets, doing stuff for money and drugs, being here, being unhappy?"  
"Well, if that didn't happen, you wouldn't have met Scott." Sydney said. Shelby thought about that. "You love him. Everyone knows it. You guys are soulmates."  
"Maybe your right. I never thought about it that way before," Shelby said after awhile.  
"So have you told Scott about your dad before?"  
"I told him my dad died. I didn't tell him why or how."  
"Maybe you should tell him."  
"Yeah, maybe."  
They were quiet for a few minutes. "Sydney - uh, thanks for listening to me. I feel a lot better."  
"No problem."  
"I'm going to find Scott."  
After Shelby left, Sydney went to find Sophie to fill her in on what happened.  
  
That evening, Scott and Shelby had dinner together. After dinner they sat on one of the couches and talked. Scott even got Shelby to laugh.  
"Its good to know somebody can make her laugh," Sophie told Peter, watching them from the balcony.  
"That girl needs to laugh. Good thing she found Scott," Peter said. "Gotta go do some stuff in the office. Talk to you later," he said, kissing her before he left.  
"Shel, I know we've been having trouble with telling each other stuff in the past. I'm glad you came to me, Shel. You can trust me, I want you to know that. And that I love you," Scott said, giving Shelby a kiss.  
Shelby smiled, and it felt good. Scott put his arm around her and she snuggled against him, thanking God that he was in her life.  
  
  


Okay, I think this is the end, unless someone gives me an idea to continue. Well anyway, I hope you enjoyed it, please please review!


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